The Long Trail is the oldest long-distance trail in the country. Hikers come from all over to scale those 273 miles through the Green Mountain National Forest. It's not easy, and two women recently broke records for their quick journeys.
Waterbury resident Tori "Chewy" Constantine, a nurse at the University of Vermont Medical Center, broke the Long Trail record for fastest unsupported hike for a female hiker, completing her journey in 5 days, 19 hours and 29 minutes. Unsupported means Constantine had to carry all of her supplies with her the entire time.
The other record breaker, Tara "Candy Mama" Dower of Colorado, broke the Long Trail record for fastest supported hike ever, regardless of gender. She did it in 3 days, 18 hours and 29 minutes. Dower, a professional ultramarathon trail athlete, also holds the record for fastest supported hike on the full Appalachian Trail. A supported hike means Dower had a team following her through the hike with supplies, and credits the team with her success.
In order to break their records, both hikers eschewed sleep in favor of moving forward. Dower slept just under three hours, split into three shifts, while Constantine said she was aiming for about two hours a night. This was Constantine's first speed attempt, and she couldn't sleep the night before she left.
"I had a lot of adrenaline," she said. "I think that helped me stay really awake the first couple of days, but then the sleep deprivation definitely caught up to me on day three."
Lack of sleep can take a toll on the body and both hikers shared their sleep-deprived hallucinations. Constantine saw a life-size piñata, and then started seeing messages in sticks that she thought were written by her friends, which she described it as "a little scary."
For Dower, her hallucinations came in the terrifying form of a baby clown.
"I also saw a melting person in the last 14 miles," Dower said. "And you know it's not real, but it's still like, what am I seeing right now? Why am I seeing this?"
Despite the "screaming feet," as Dower described them, both hikers and callers talked about a feeling of community on the Long Trail. In the long distance hiking community, it's commonplace to receive trail names from their fellow hikers. Constantine has the trail name "Chewy," and Dower was given the trail name "Candy Mama."
"One thing I've always loved doing on through hikes with my friends that I've hiked with is roses and thorns," Constantine said. "You remember all the really great memories from the trail just as much as you remember some of the like harder days, and those become just a special experiences as well."
Dower said her biggest word of advice for hikers would be to set up proper expectations.
"It might not be this grand adventure you're expecting, and that's okay."
This episode also included a conversation with Jason Moon, senior producer with New Hampshire Public Radio's investigations team and host of the podcast Bear Brook, regarding the recent identification of the fourth victim in the case.
Broadcast live on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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